Random Thoughts - Part III The Search for Spark (No Politics)

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by cjd

Am I the only one that would rather play in a kayak? whitewater/surf boat in waves, or nice sea kayak for covering ground or poking around in hidden corners you can't get to any oher way.
Have an 8' surf kayak, 17' sea kayak. Haven't used either in years though, no way to haul them! But so much fun.

Pontoon is fine if you really want a mobile deck. Sail boat if you're going a long way.

There always has to be that ONE guy...

Kayaks and such have a place but hard to enjoy the company of family and friends when paddling around by yourself.

I for one will be very glad when the kayak fad comes to an end. They show up every weekend at our lake like swarms of mosquitos. Most have little or no clue what they are doing, seem to feel there are no rules of the road that apply to them and overall are more often than not just a nuisance.

They are the bicyclists of the waterways!

[Sapphireho]

I had a 2 person Polaris ski years ago. Was a 3 cylinder 2-stroke 650. It was a lot of fun, and I lived 10 minutes from a county reservoir, so I could just go for an hour after work. Was pretty fun.

I've had 3 boats over the years. First was a 12' aluminum with a 7.5hp 2 cylinder honda. Great for trolling. Next was a 15' aluminum with a 35hp 3 cylinder honda. It's at my mom's house. I gave it to my dad. Super comfy trout killer for 2 guys. Currently I have a 21.25' Jet Craft with a v6 200hp honda main motor, and a 9.9hp Honda trolling motor. Great boat. It has gps, plotter, auto-pilot, downriggers, the works. It will go faster than you would ever want to go. At sea level, change from the 17° to the 19° prop and it will go ludicrous speed. And I would never own any outboard motor but a Honda. I fill my 45 gallon tank and go for years.

Oh yea my boat is a river boat. Eagle lake,where my cabin is, is a shallow lake. My boat will float in about 10 inches of water.

[NoHaveMSG]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Kayaks and such have a place but hard to enjoy the company of family and friends when paddling around by yourself.

That is the main issue we run into. When it is the guys, it is fun, but they want to spend time with their wives' and kids too so it doesn't workout. Even in calm waters it's a PITA and a couple of us end up having to heard the group. When it comes to divvying up the small amount of free time we have, including their families and making everyone comfortable wins out.

[Sapphireho]

Originally Posted by NoHaveMSG

I have always preferred the pontoon on the lake, but we need something to fish the local rivers. Will likely be aluminum hull with a jet drive.

One thing about every jet boat I've ever seen..the gas gauge moves faster than the speedo.

[NoHaveMSG]

Originally Posted by Sapphireho

One thing about every jet boat I've ever seen..the gas gauge moves faster than the speedo.

They certainly are not efficient, or reliable, or easy to work on.

[soundman98]

if we're showing off boats...

1985 four winns. the titles moved around a lot, but been in the family one way or another since new. my brothers got it now. just blew 'something' that he hasn't had time to diagnose yet, on the first trip out for the year no less. it's blowing oil out the valve cover breather, about 2 quarts in 10 minutes...

most interesting part, it's an inboard/outboard that uses a mercruiser 4 cylinder that uses parts from a ford v8. so it's quite literally 'half a motor'.


looks just like this

[cjd]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

There always has to be that ONE guy...

Kayaks and such have a place but hard to enjoy the company of family and friends when paddling around by yourself.

I for one will be very glad when the kayak fad comes to an end. They show up every weekend at our lake like swarms of mosquitos. Most have little or no clue what they are doing, seem to feel there are no rules of the road that apply to them and overall are more often than not just a nuisance.

They are the bicyclists of the waterways!

Yeah, nothing wrong with cyclists either now, is there...

But I understand what you're saying, and that crowd bugs me as much as it does you. Those are tiny fat boats, and the "sit on top" just makes it more annoying.

The other reason I haven't been out in ages is lack of friends with kayaks. Especially if it's the play boat, you NEVER do that kind of thing solo. But if there aren't incredibly obnoxious loud jerks revving their engines and making silly waves, a group on the water can be fun. Totally different than hanging out on deck together, but I'd take a pontoon for that any day.
Getting out in the ocean on a quiet paddle and porpoises decide to join you for a while... or quietly paddling just a few feet below some rather large birds resting on a tree... it's different, and there isn't much else you can do quite like it.
I detest power boats almost as much as SUVs. They're mostly stupid, solutions to problems that didn't exist before they did. Expensive and obnoxious and making the world a more dangerous place. Status symbols, not sensible transportation. Mostly.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by soundman98

if we're showing off boats...

1985 four winns. the titles moved around a lot, but been in the family one way or another since new. my brothers got it now. just blew 'something' that he hasn't had time to diagnose yet, on the first trip out for the year no less. it's blowing oil out the valve cover breather, about 2 quarts in 10 minutes...

most interesting part, it's an inboard/outboard that uses a mercruiser 4 cylinder that uses parts from a ford v8. so it's quite literally 'half a motor'.


looks just like this

Same set up as my Bayliner had. Engine was the only thing that I never had any real issue wit.

[soundman98]

this year is really the first major engine issue we've had since it was new. it was always stupid stuff-- loose distributor cap, bad gas, etc...


worst part now is that it's so old that my brother called around to a few places to see if they'd look at it, and as soon as he said "19" they cut him off and say they don't work on anything that old. so it's going to be us repairing it, or nothing

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by cjd

Yeah, nothing wrong with cyclists either now, is there...

But I understand what you're saying, and that crowd bugs me as much as it does you. Those are tiny fat boats, and the "sit on top" just makes it more annoying.

The other reason I haven't been out in ages is lack of friends with kayaks. Especially if it's the play boat, you NEVER do that kind of thing solo. But if there aren't incredibly obnoxious loud jerks revving their engines and making silly waves, a group on the water can be fun. Totally different than hanging out on deck together, but I'd take a pontoon for that any day.
Getting out in the ocean on a quiet paddle and porpoises decide to join you for a while... or quietly paddling just a few feet below some rather large birds resting on a tree... it's different, and there isn't much else you can do quite like it.
I detest power boats almost as much as SUVs. They're mostly stupid, solutions to problems that didn't exist before they did. Expensive and obnoxious and making the world a more dangerous place. Status symbols, not sensible transportation. Mostly.

Yep they can be just as annoying as the flocks of kayaks (and even worse those damn stand up paddle board hipsters) but in a more aggressive way. Can be very bad at our lake since it is small enough that people go there to "learn" how to use their new boat or "check it out" after doing repairs so they get ripping around and pay more attention to the boat than what is going on around them.
The good part is that it is too small a lake to get those massive day cruisers that tend to feel they rule the waves.
Most of the skiers and tubers are pretty decent and respectful though.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by soundman98

this year is really the first major engine issue we've had since it was new. it was always stupid stuff-- loose distributor cap, bad gas, etc...


worst part now is that it's so old that my brother called around to a few places to see if they'd look at it, and as soon as he said "19" they cut him off and say they don't work on anything that old. so it's going to be us repairing it, or nothing

Check the rubber gasket seal around the outdrive very closely! Our split and the boat sank at the dock. Luckily my naval training meant I had real knots tied on or it would have went to the bottom.

[NoHaveMSG]

Originally Posted by cjd

Getting out in the ocean on a quiet paddle and porpoises decide to join you for a while... or quietly paddling just a few feet below some rather large birds resting on a tree... it's different, and there isn't much else you can do quite like it.

There are a few large high mountain lakes around here that are fun to just explore and paddle around that are no motorized craft. One of them you can see the bottom for a good part of it, it is so clear and has an old petrified forest that is underwater. The other is my favorite fishing spot but it is a 3+ mile hike with all your gear, the PCT runs right next to it. I have backpacked the area a couple times but it is a lot of work. I only have a couple buddies I can go with to that one and have a good time

[Spuds]

Wow, if I knew how much folks liked talking about boats I would have started a new thread lol. Thanks for sharing!

I suppose I should share my limited boating experience:

I actually bought a kayak when I was 10, we took it and one other to various streams, rivers, and lakes. It's fun to paddle around on smaller bodies of water, but it's less fun if there's a lot of motor traffic, or when you run out of inlets to explore. I don't enjoy fishing (yet?) so there's only so much entertainment to be had. Good exercise and easy to transport though.

I have done some sailing with small rentals and such. When it's windy, I much prefer sailing to any of the other options. I think it has something to do with speed being proportional to skill that keeps me entertained there. But it's not always windy on a day you want to be out on the water and bigger sailboats you can take people with you on seems to be a PITA to trailer. Never owned a sailboat so idk what that is like, but there are sailing clubs in the area I could join.

Jey skis are fun for the few hours I've been on them. But cruising around seems boring unless you can take it somewhere, which a boat is better at. Totally would have a couple if I lived on a big lake with a dock, but seems like a hassle otherwise.

Motor Boats... We've been on a bunch of boats in different places, whether rentals or owned by people we visit. It's fun to cruise around to different places. If my family or friends lived closer, this would be the most practical solution but I can't see myself wanting to launch a boat just to cruise around with just me and my wife, and it's kind of an expensive use of driveway space.

Where I live, I would be launching into the lower Potomac, so salt water, lots of space, but also a lot of traffic. There are places you can go by boat, but it's not likely any faster unless I want to go to Virginia.

[cjd]

Originally Posted by NoHaveMSG

There are a few large high mountain lakes around here that are fun to just explore and paddle around that are no motorized craft. One of them you can see the bottom for a good part of it, it is so clear and has an old petrified forest that is underwater. The other is my favorite fishing spot but it is a 3+ mile hike with all your gear, the PCT runs right next to it. I have backpacked the area a couple times but it is a lot of work. I only have a couple buddies I can go with to that one and have a good time

That looks amazing. I've done multi-day trips in the kayak (and backpacking - mostly shared gear, but not all of it). Wife won't even think about a tent so haven't even been camping in far too long. So many things on the "maybe some day" list.